Things felt much different in 2011 when Balance and Composure released their debut full length Separation. Expectations weren’t extremely high. After all, it was just the first record from a handful of teenagers with a frontman who used to be in a band called The Erection Kids. Despite this, Separation enjoyed modest success for both…

At first glance, it would be easy to dismiss Native’s new album, Orthodox. After all, there has been a plethora of great melodic hardcore and post-hardcore records released this year, and Native just haven’t received the hype artists like Defeater, Modern Life Is War, and Touché Amoré have. It’s really unfortunate that this is the…

About a month ago, The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die released their debut full-length Whenever, If Ever to deserved critical acclaim and modest commercial success. This didn’t stop singer/guitarist Derrick Shanholtzer from releasing Where Were You While We Were Getting High? under the moniker of One Hundred…

You’re never supposed to use first-person pronouns like “I” and “me” in objective writing. Presenting any argument as fact rather than opinion is supposed to make a piece more convincing and professional. That’s simply impossible for me to do in the case of reviewing Jimmy Eat World’s new album, Damage. Jimmy Eat World have been…

Initially, it might be hard to understand all the hype surrounding Deafheaven’s new album, Sunbather. The record is only seven tracks long but is nearly an hour in total length, with three songs breaking the 10-minute mark. In fact, three of the seven aren’t even full-fledged songs, more just interludes between the gargantuan epics. Then…

When listening to Mylets’ collection of remastered EPs, Retcon, it is easy to be impressed without even considering how the music actually sounds. Teenager Henry Kohen singlehandedly creates every aspect of the loop-based rock, singing, playing guitar and mixing in the occasional synth or percussion sample to round things out. Kohen’s youth and multitasking abilities…

Desperate Ground, the sixth studio album from The Thermals, is a strange listen. Individual tracks aren’t bad in and of themselves; in fact, some tracks like the single “The Sunset” are genuinely good. However, the group consistently refuses to alter their sound in terms of production, song structure, instrumentation, lyricism, or any other noticeable aspect.…

Within the opening seconds of Wes Eisold’s New Wave-revival project Cold Cave‘s new seven-inch, the listeners know exactly what is in store for them on Oceans With No End. The pleasantly muted synthesizers and punchy percussion give it away, instantly bringing to mind the likes of New Order and The Cure. The style is certainly far from…